Turnabout Switch
by Fragments of Time
Summary: The morning of case 1-2, Edgeworth and Phoenix wake up to discover that they have somehow switched bodies! How will they change back, and more importantly... what are they going to do about the case?


Edgeworth woke up to find himself in a peculiar place. This room was far messier than he would _ever_ allow his room to end up. His limbs felt somehow slightly shorter than usual, too. He looked around, trying to see if he could find something familiar.

Unfortunately, he saw nothing terribly distinctive. The only thing he was able to fully ascertain was that this was most certainly not his house. He opened the closet, hoping to uncover whose house this was. Most people he knew had quite distinctive wardrobes.

Sure enough, the wardrobe was full of blue suits. This was almost certainly Phoenix's house. The question that followed was, "What am I doing in his house?"

He left the room to look around the house. He saw no one. Where was Phoenix? If this was his house, why was he not there? He had some questions he needed to ask the defense attorney.

Upon walking past a mirror, he thought he saw him out of the corner of his eye. He looked behind him, but there was no one there. Confused, he looked back at the mirror... and saw Phoenix. He stared in confusion, Phoenix staring back with the exact same expression.

_This can't mean... no, that'd be completely illogical...!_ He moved in the mirror, doing simple things like poking his hair or blinking. Not only did the reflection mirror them perfectly, he felt spikes when he touched his hair. There was only one explanation for this - the "completely illogical" one.

Edgeworth looked around for a phone. Surely there had to be one somewhere. When he had found Phoenix's house phone in the living room, he dialed his own number. If he was Phoenix, then most likely...

"Hello?"

Edgeworth heard what was seemingly his voice on the other line. "Hello, is this... Edgeworth?"

Glancing at the caller ID, Phoenix replied, "Edgeworth, is that you? What's going on? This is Phoenix... but I'm you!"

The prosecutor nodded, "Yes, I'm afraid I seem to be trapped in a similar situation. It appears that I am in your body and house."

"Ah... ok, what should we do?"

"I think we need to meet somewhere and discuss this. First of all, what could be causing this. Second, how to reverse it. And finally, what we're going to do until we can reverse it and any possible repercussions."

"Alright, well... I know! I'll drive over there, since I'll have your car and your license!"

"**_Objection!_** Absolutely not!"

"Why not?" he asked, disappointed

"Because, no matter whose body you're in, your mind is still Phoenix's and Phoenix has yet to get his license. I refuse to allow you to make a fool out of me or to ruin my car!"

Phoenix sighed in defeat, "Fine. I have some money sitting on the table... take the bus here or something."

---

Phoenix and Edgeworth had agreed to pretend to be each other until they figured out what had caused this situation. Phoenix had agreed to go to dinner with Mia and her little sister that day, so this meant it was up to Edgeworth to do this instead.

_It seems that I'm running a little late._ he admitted mentally, _I underestimated how long it would take me by foot. ...I'm only about ten minutes late, so it should be alright._ He looked around. Where was Mia? _Did they leave already? That's odd, considering I'm not all that late. In fact, I'm probably not nearly as late as Wright would've been._ He then was almost overwhelmed by a smell strong to him, _What is that smell...? It smells like... blood? What could be going on?_ He entered the next room, _That definitely smells like blood..._

He heard a sound from the corner of the room. It sounded like someone crying. "Sis..."

Who was there? He turned and saw Mia - "Chief" to Phoenix - slumped on the ground. This was quite clearly the source of the blood. One glance at the woman told him that she was undoubtedly dead.

He noticed another girl, presumably the little sister. She was dressed in odd, hippie-like clothing. He was about to ask who she was when she passed out. Unable to leave her just lying there, he carried her back into the other room and laid her carefully onto the sofa. Returning to the other room, Edgeworth quickly decided what to do. He went back to Mia, shaking her lightly though he knew it was pointless. Her body heat was beginning to fade and quickly became cold.

He knew he needed to call the police as soon as possible, but first he wanted to investigate and gather as many clues as he could. He also tried to analyze the body as best as he was able to. There was a statue nearby with blood on it, likely the murder weapon. The strangest thing was the receipt lying on the ground, with "Maya" written in blood. He made note of it, but decided it was high time he called the police. He had a bad feeling about this... The phone looked almost as though someone had been attempting to dismantle it, with some screws even missing from the receiver.

A loud scream rang through the silent night. "**Police!? Please, come quick!**"

He looked out the window to the source of the sound. Due to the volume, he was able to hear it. The voice belonged to a pink-haired girl, dressed in pink and white. She looked terrified, and she was staring right at Edgeworth as she had screamed into the phone.

Having little other choice, Edgeworth returned to what appeared to be the living room of the office. Where was that girl? He had left her on the couch, but she was clearly not there at the moment.

"Nghoooh!" he exclaimed in surprise, noticing the girl behind him, "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

The girl looked down, silent. He had no idea who she was. She could be someone who, like him, was innocent but happened to stumble upon the crime scene. If this was the case, her reaction implied she and the victim were quite close. On the other hand, there was also the possibility that she and the victim had gotten into an argument or something of the sort and her anger got the better of her - maybe she had hit harder than she meant to, or maybe it was purely accidental; it could have just flown out of her hand. If that was the case, it was quite obvious to say that she felt guilty for what had happened.

"Excuse me, but who are you?" he asked, trying to be gentle so as to get an answer out of her more easily

She didn't answer. He noticed she was shaking slightly.

"It's ok... I work here." he reassured her. Phoenix worked there, and for the time being, he was Phoenix.

She whispered, her voice breathy and trembling as though she could barely speak, "Maya... Maya Fey."

"Maya... Fey?" If he remembered correctly, 'Fey' was Mia's last name, further implying that this girl was indeed the victim's little sister. This did not clear any of his suspicions, but it was something to note. Edgeworth remembered something, _Maya? That was the name on that receipt... I'll have to show it to her. ...Hm, she seems a little upset. I'll have to try and calm her down a little first; I don't want to send her further into shock._ He thought about a suitable topic - one related to the case, though at the same time one that wouldn't disturb her. "So, you're her...?" he allowed himself to trail off

"Sister. I'm her younger sister." Her voice was still shaking, but she seemed to be more comfortable with this topic.

"And you were here... visiting? This late?" he asked. If she had been here for a while, that would mean she would have witnessed the murder and should be able to describe the killer.

"Yes. She said she wanted me to keep some evidence for her..."

Edgeworth repeated, "Evidence...?" This was not part of the story he had heard before.

"Yes... I-it was that clock... 'The Thinker...'" her hands curled into fists as she recalled the murder weapon

She seemed to be feeling a little better now, or at least as much as one could in her situation. This led him to try probing a little further into the event. "Can you tell me what happened?"

Her breath caught for a minute as she recalled it. However, she knew she should tell him so he could help investigate or something. "I came in... The room was dark. And..." Her voice was breathy again, as though she was just short of having a panic attack or something. "And Sis... Sis...!"

Edgeworth concluded from this that Mia must have already been dead by the time Maya arrived. He worried it may be too soon, but the next piece of information he needed was anything she may know about the receipt. Trying to be sensitive yet explaining the facts, he told her, "Before Mia died, she wrote a message with her own blood. She wrote in on the back of a receipt." He pulled it out of his pocket where he had put it and showed it to her.

Her eyes widened in surprise, "Th-th-that's _my_ name! W-why!? Why would she write my name?" Her eyes filled with tears, "W-why would Sis write my name?"

He knew he needed to calm her down or something, but growing up in the von Karma household left sympathy not one of his best traits. In that household, showing such emotions made you weak. He tried to think of something to say or do when loud sirens cut through his thoughts. It was the police, and it sounded as though they were heading that way.

A voice exclaimed, "Freeze! Police!"

Maya was shocked, and even Edgeworth was surprised. They both froze in place, Edgeworth knowingly putting his hands up and behind him to make sure he would not appear threatening. The last thing he needed was suspicions cast upon himself or Wright right now. Maya followed suit.

A large man wearing a green trench coat entered the room. "Alright, I'm Detective Dick Gumshoe, see?"

_Of course, I already know that._ Edgeworth mused, _Though Phoenix wouldn't._

"We received a repot from the building across the way, see. Got a person saying they saw a murder!"

He immediately concluded that it must have been the screaming woman. At this point, even knowing who it was, there was nothing he could do.

"Anyway, I don't want either of you moving one inch, 'kay?"

They complied, standing there. Maya was shaking. Edgeworth watched her out of the corner of his eye. She seemed afraid... could it really have been her?

"Whoaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Gumshoe exclaimed in his typical indiscreet fashion, "'Scuze me!" he shoved the receipt in Maya's face, causing a small shriek to escape from the frightened girl. "This word 'Maya' here mean anything to you?"

"Um... that..." she tried, unable to raise her voice much above a whisper, "That's my name..."

"WHAAAAT!?"

Edgeworth flinched at Gumshoe's exclamation. It was quite unnecessary to be that loud, especially considering how mousey Maya looked at the moment.

"The victim drew this here note in her own blood, see? With her dying breath, she wrote down the killer's name!"

"K-killer...? I'm not--" she started, tears forming again

"Case closed! You're coming down to the precinct, ma'am."

"W-what?"

Edgeworth was well aware visiting hours would be over at the detention center, and wouldn't start again until about nine o'clock the following morning. For this reason, he decided to contact Phoenix.

"Hello?" Phoenix answered 'his' cell phone

"Phoenix, I need to tell you something. Meet me at the detention center."

"When?"

Tone serious, he instructed, "Now."

"A-alright..." he agreed, wondering why Edgeworth's tone was so serious. Sure, Edgeworth's real tone was almost always serious, but hearing it in what was normally his own voice, he knew what it meant.

They both hurried to the detention center as quickly as they could.

"Edgeworth-- I mean, Phoenix!" Phoenix amended, remembering their act and that they were in public, "What's wrong?"

Edgeworth sighed. This news, he was sure, would not be easy to break to his friend. "Ph--uh, Edgeworth... your mentor... has been murdered."

The shock was apparent on his face. "Chief? You mean, Mia was killed!?" he looked at Edgeworth, though it was his face, searching it for any sign that this was some sort of horrible joke. It wasn't. "Who?" he asked simply, face obscured by his (technically Edgeworth's) bangs

"...I don't know. A girl - her little sister, apparently - has been arrested upon suspicion of murder, but I don't think it was her."

He was silent for a long time as he tried to process the information he had just been given. Suddenly, he looked up, his face filled with determination. "Let me see the evidence you've found. Tell me anything and everything you know about the case. _I will avenge her._"

Edgeworth sighed, unsure how to remind him. "..._We_ will avenge her, I guess. At the moment, you're a prosecutor and I'm the defense. If you want, I suppose I can defend the girl... and you can..." this gave him mixed feelings. He wanted to be helpful, but he had a perfect record. He didn't want to lose his perfect record! ...Some things were more important than records, weren't they? He became a prosecutor to catch criminals. This girl seemed to be innocent... so he supposed it would be alright, just this once. "You... can... do a half-assed job of prosecuting. Just don't make me look too bad. Ah, I know - make it the detective's fault somehow."

---

They both stayed the night at the detention center. Phoenix didn't get much sleep, much to Edgeworth's annoyance. If Phoenix didn't get enough sleep, right now, it was his face that would look bad.

Edgeworth thought about what to do to calm the defense attorney. What did people always do on television dramas? What would the defense attorney himself had done, had the victim been someone close to the prosecutor? An idea came to him. He wasn't quite sure how Phoenix would react, but... it was worth a try.

"Phoenix, look at me." he requested softly, ignoring the fact that he should have used his own name instead. Considering what he was about to do, it was already bad enough that the defense attorney was in his body. He wanted to try to forget about that part of the situation for now.

Phoenix did as requested, his face becoming a light shade of red upon seeing the intensity of Edgeworth's gaze.

Edgeworth cautiously placed a hand on Phoenix's cheek. The defense attorney found his body unconsciously moving closer, signaling to Edgeworth that he wanted this just as much as the prosecutor did... though it would've been preferable if it was in their own bodies. Gently, he pressed his lips to Phoenix's.

After a few seconds, they pulled away for air. Edgeworth was the first to notice, "Phoenix, look."

"You're you again! And I'm me again!" he exclaimed happily, "But, um... Edgeworth..." he looked to the ground, a slight blush reappearing on his face

"Hm?"

"...Does that mean I lost my first kiss to myself?"

Edgeworth blinked, speechless. "...That was your first kiss??"


End file.
